Jessica Jumps In: A Newbie's Guide To Last Man Standing

The news is not so good on this front. Tim Allen is essentially playing the same rather manly beer-drinking and car-loving dude who must be kept in check by his wife in this series that he has played in a good chunk of his roles in the past. That’s definite retread, but that’s also Tim Allen doing Tim Allen jokes, so if you like the man, it shouldn’t be a problem.

The rest of the characters are not super exciting, all seeming like stereotypes or slight variations on a stereotype. There’s the wife who’s smart but tolerates Mike’s macho-ness. There are three daughters—the one who got knocked up, the one who’s kind of a slut, and the one who is smarter than the rest of the siblings. It’s pretty much the same dynamic as Modern Family’s the Pritchetts, but without the zaniness of Luke. The youngest daughter, Eve, played by Justified’s Kaitlyn Dever is a standout on screen, however, and often gets the last joke.